Cairo

Really, they could have gone to 2-1/2. Would it have killed them? When I see two stars, I expect to see a complete disaster.

"Cairo" from 1942 is a bit convoluted, but there are some fun moments. The film stars Robert Young, Jeannette MacDonald, Ethel Waters, Lionel Atwill, Eduardo Ciannelli and Reginald Owen.

Part of the problem with "Cairo" is you're not sure what you're watching - musical, comedy, drama, what? It's a comedy with music, but a bit unsure of itself. Young plays Homer Smith, a newspaper reporter who suspects the famous singer/movie star Marcia Warren of being a Nazi spy. She suspects him of being one as well.

The best scene occurs when they go out for an evening, manage to get away from one another, and each go back to MacDonald's house to search the other's room. There's also a joke with her high C, which inadvertently opens a secret passage.

One of the assets of "Cairo" is Jeannette MacDonald, who was so beautiful, and here she's in good voice and very appealing in her performances. Ethel Waters is wonderful, though she certainly could have done more. Young was never a top-flight movie star, but he does okay. MacDonald is excellent, very charming and funny.

With a little work on the script, this could have been an excellent film. However, it looks like it was rushed out as a propaganda movie and done on the cheap.

The film has some great in jokes. When Marcia Warren and Homer Smith question one another, they learn that they are both from California. She's from the north; he's from the south. Both denigrate where the other lives. Finally Smith says to her, "Have you ever been to San Francisco?" "Once," she answers, "with Gable and Tracy and the joint fell apart."

This would be OK as a wartime musical, praying that ships get back to the harbours of Home. But Robert Young's character in infuriating. The gags, the pratfalls aren't funny, or they require the mindset of the Three Stooges. This is supposed to be an investigative reporter? Classy Jeanette MacDonald is supposed to fall for this goofball? But what saves the movie, as other have noted, is Ethel Waters. Sure, she's dressed as a maid until she gets to do a stage number. And Dooley Wilson, who watches that number, is dressed as an "A-rab." And of course there's nobody else they can pair up with. But they steal the show, and inspire even MacDonald to move her hips for a moment. Not Robert Young's character, still out of it.

"Cairo" (1942) is a typically polished MGM production - even if it does take place in an entirely Hollywood-studio Cairo. It features some surprising, for the time, "meta" humor, like Jeanette MacDonald's response to the question "Have you ever been to San Francisco?", or the final scene where she "teaches" Robert Young how to carry himself as an actor in front of a supposed camera - which is the actual camera filming them. There is perhaps a tad too much singing, although MacDonald, who looks gorgeous and younger than her age, has a remarkable voice. A fine supporting cast helps. **1/2 out of 4.

In one of her last movies, Miss MacDonald shows a real gift for light comedy - along with her well known vocal talents.

And for the guy who said there were too many songs...WAKE UP!!!...it's a musical! LOL That's like saying there are too many explosions in an action flick or jokes in a comedy.

If you are a Jeanette MacDonald fan this is a "MUST SEE" film. No, it's not her very best film, but it's different enough for her that it's really great watching!! Read the other comments - except for the fellow that doesn't like Musicals (poor fellow), they're pretty much right on track. While Robert Young gets a bit "hammy" in a couple scenes, overall it's a very delightful musical/spy spoof/drama/etc. A good balance of songs and drama, which was important for morale during the early years of WWII.

Hint for Jeanette MacDonald fans: You _MUST_ see Ethyl Waters and Jeanette's rendition of "Waiting for the Robert E. Lee" about half way through the film. You've NEVER seen Jeanete like this - very cute, very well done!!